Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Running time: 113 minutes
A Date with Judy (1948)
“A Date With Judy takes you on a sunny, spirited romp through post-war America that’s bright with song and shining with innocence. A galaxy of Hollywood favorites lead the way, including Jane Powell in the title role, neophyte screen siren Elizabeth Taylor, foggy-voiced Wallace Beery, and the ‘Brazilian Bombshell’ Carmen Miranda (making her M-G-M debut). Based on a very popular radio series, this merry musical follows the adventures of young Judy Foster. For Judy, going to the big school dance is a full time job—and so is making a perfect hash of her friends’ and family’s love lives all with the best intentions, of course. The film’s delightful score is highlighted by a raft-raiser of a song (“It’s a Most Unusual Day”) and the comedy is in the capable hands of Beery and Miranda. When she teaches him how to rhumba, it’s more Stan-and-Ollie than Fred-and-Ginger and so much fun.” [From the Blu-ray]
Cast
Melvin R. Foster: Wallace Beery
Judy Foster: Jane Powell
Carol Pringle: Elizabeth Taylor
Rosita Conchellas: Carmen Miranda
Xavier Cugat: Himself
Stephen Andrews: Robert Stack
Mrs. Foster: Selena Royle
Ogden “Oogie” Pringle: Scotty Beckett
Lucien T. Pringle: Leon Ames
Gramps: George Cleveland
Pop Scully: Lloyd Corrigan
Jameson: Clinton Sundberg
Mitzie: Jean McLaren
Randolph Foster: Jerry Hunter
Jo-Jo Hoffenpepper: Buddy Howard
Nightingale: Lillian Yarbo
Miss Clarke: Eula Guy
Professor Green: Francis Pierlot
Olga: Rena Lenart
Little Girl in Drugstore: Sheila Stein
Girl: Alice Kelley
Elderly Woman: Polly Bailey
Miss Sampson: Fern Eggen
Headwaiter: Paul Bradley
Crew
Director: Richard Thorpe
Producer: Joe Pasternak
Screenwriters: Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley
Based on the Characters Created by: Aleen Leslie
Cinematographer: Robert Surtees
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse
Musical Director: George Stoll
Editor: Harold F. Kress
Songs: “Judaline” by Don Raye and Gene DePaul; “It’s a Most Unusual Day” by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh; “I’m Strictly on the Corny Side” by Stella Unger and Alec Templeton; “I’ve Got a Date with Judy” and “I’m Gonna Meet My Mary” by Bill Katz and Calvin Jackson
Did You Know?
Exactly a month shy of her sixteenth birthday on the final day of filming, A Date with Judy marked what Elizabeth’s mother, Sara, would later refer to as “the beginning of the glamour buildup”. As the precocious Carole Pringle, Elizabeth would wear costumes by the great MGM designer Helen Rose for the first time on screen, and other aspects of what would become unmistakable hallmarks of the signature Elizabeth Taylor “look” were introduced in this film.
Elizabeth and Jane Powell had become fast friends as child stars on the MGM backlot. Elizabeth would later serve as a bridesmaid at Jane’s 1949 wedding to Geary Steffen. Jane’s wedding dress was designed by none other than A Date with Judy’s costumer, Helen Rose, just as Elizabeth’s would be when she married Nicky Hilton the following year. Jane would be one of Elizabeth’s bridesmaids, too.
The Premiere
Elizabeth attended the premiere of A Date with Judy on the arm of actor Richard Long. Clearly the glamour was building offscreen, too!
